Walter Newman Haldeman

Walter N Haldeman (April 27, 1821 in Maysville, Kentucky – May 13, 1902 in Louisville, Kentucky) was an American newspaper publisher, owner, and businessman from Louisville, KY, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1844 Mr. Haldeman founded the Louisville Courier, a pro-secessionist newspaper both before and during the Civil War. It was shut down by Federal authorities in September 1861, but Haldeman fearing arrest as a traitor, removed to Bowling Green, Ky., where he continued publication.[1] After the war, in 1868, the Courier merged with its cross-town rival—the pro-Union Louisville Journal—to form the Louisville Courier-Journal.[2] Mr. Haldeman became president of the new corporation.[3] The combined paper is still in circulation and currently owned by the Gannett Company. As a businessman, Mr. Haldeman is also known as the founder of Naples, Florida and the owner of the Major League Baseball team, the Louisville Grays; a charter member of the National League. His son, John Haldeman, played in one game for the Grays in 1877.

Portrait of Walter Haldeman

Although a force in 19th Century U.S. newspaper business, Mr. Haldeman shied away from the spotlight, as a New York Times article from May 14, 1902 described him as "a man of unusual force of character, but remarkably modest, so that he resented any form of publicity about himself"; thus providing the spotlight for the Courier-Journal editor, Henry Watterson.[3]

Early years

Walter N. Haldeman was the son of John Haldeman and Elizabeth Newman, and was born in Maysville, KY where he spent his childhood years. He attended Maysville Academy with future prominent Americans' Ulysses S. Grant, William H. Wadsworth, Thomas H. Nelson, and William "Bull" Nelson under the tutelage of Professor William A. Richardson.[2] At age 16 Mr. Haldeman moved with his family to Louisville, KY where he worked in a grocery store and commission house. In 1840 Mr. Haldeman started his newspaper career in a clerical position at the Louisville Journal, but within a few years he had opened his own bookstore and print shop.

References
  1. Craig, Berry (2018). Kentucky's Rebel Press: Pro-Confederate Media and the Secession Crisis. Lexington, Ky.: University of Kentucky Press. pp. 17–18. ISBN 9780813174594.
  2. Collins, Lewis; Collins, Richard H. (October 1998). History of Kentucky - Lewis Collins, Richard H. Collins - Google Books. ISBN 9780806345642. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  3. "Walter N. Halderman Dead" (PDF). New York Times. May 14, 1902. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
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